5 days ago our little ten week Maltese pup went after our adult labs food bowl. Our lab nipped at her and got her on the head. She had a little scrape on her nose. My boyfriend loudly scolded the lab. The pup yelped for a few minutes and was very timid with my boyfriend all night. When I got home she came right up to me but would yelp when picked up. She has continued to yelp when picked up by people but it is slowly happening less. She has been eating and drinking fine since the incident. We keep the lab and her separated at all times. She seems to still be curious but submissive to the lab as they will smell each other through the puppy gate with wagging tails but she is reluctant to get to close to her with out a puppy gate around (i.e. if she is on the bed and the lab is on the floor looking at her from end of it the pup will stay at the other end).

Two days ago she started yelping/moaning occasionally when sitting in her carrier or resting in her crate/playpen. This worried me so I took her to the emergency vet who said that she seemed fine because she was eating and drinking normally and she was playful and curious. She did say her stomach was a little tight though. She had just eaten 3 to 4 hours earlier and went #2 about 20 minutes after eating but the vet said that most likely her stomach was tight from being full. The vet said we could get xrays but that she didnt think they were necessary so we opted not to.

Since the incident she has been playful but has been wary of being picked up. She keeps her bottom close to the floor and ducks her head down like an abused dog whenever anyone goes to lift her. Starting yesterday she squirts out a few drops of pee when people go to pick her up. This doesnt happen everytime but seems to happen more with me than anyone else.

Some background and general info: I am mainly the one who feeds, grooms, and potties her and my boyfriend tends to our other two adult dogs (a lab and a chihuahua/terrier mix). She is enrolled in puppy classes and has her second class today. There are mainly small dogs in that class and one very large dog. She has had 2 sets of shots and goes for her third next week. I had her feces checked for parasites two weeks ago and everything came out clean. Prior to the incident she was a calm, confident puppy.

Both her trainer and her vet said that most likely she was traumatized by the incident and that it is something that will go away with time and lots of love but i am unsure of what to do. She still yelps sometimes when being picked up or laying down on her own and she now ducks when approached and pees when picked up. Could the vet missed something? Am i just over reacting? If it is trauma/shock how do I help her through this? What do I do about the new behaviors that are starting to show? Please help!

How do you respond when your puppy acts this way? Do you baby her? Do you treat her like a normal (but small) dog or like a poor little baby? It is kind of you to worry about her being traumatized, but try not to praise or reward her when she acts timid or fearful. Watch how you approach her when you go toward her, dogs often misinterpret human body language when we come toward them head on at full speed and they can easily be intimidated.